DATE: WEDNESDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER 2017
THEME: GIVING DETERMINES PROMOTION
Memorise:
Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee. Deuteronomy 16:17
Read: Deuteronomy 16:16-17
16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty:
16:17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.
Message:
When God commanded all males in Israel to appear before Him in today’s Bible reading, he specifically instructed that they should not come before Him empty-handed. He also instructed that whatever they brought to Him must be a reflection of the level of blessings they had received from Him. Based on these two parameters, can you say you have followed the divine pattern when you appear before God? Today, when God’s people assemble before Him, many of them do not care about what they bring as an offering, as long as they bring something. Do you know that God cares about this? For this reason, 2Corinthians 8:12 says,
“For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”
One year, during our annual thanksgiving service for pastors and ministers of our church, I told them that God expects them to bring an offering that reflects how much He has blessed them individually. Then I asked them this question: “Brethren, do you know that many of us demote ourselves by the offering we give?” They appeared surprised to hear this. So I further explained that God knows us individually, and He knows the level to which He has blessed each one of us. He knows those whom He has taken to a level that can conveniently give Him N1000 at each offering. He also knows those who can afford to give N500 and those who are unable to give more than N100. If you are in the category of N1000 but give N500 per offering, you are indirectly saying to God, “Dear Lord, you made a mistake placing me in the category of givers of N1000. You should have left me in the category of givers of N500”. Then the Lord will reply, “I thought I promoted you, but if you want to demote yourself, no problem.”This is why some people are experiencing financial dryness. You are the one who told God that the level He placed you at is too high and that he should take you lower. I shared with my children that at the beginning of every year, I draw up a budget stating what I want to earn as my income for the year. Then I tell God that this is where I was last year but this is where I want to be by the year's end. Thereafter, I start giving to reflect my expectations based on my target. I promote myself by giving beyond my present level, and I can tell you in unmistaken terms that God has never failed me, not even once. Before the end of the year, I would have already surpassed the limit I set for myself. How has it been with your life of giving? Make necessary adjustments today and key into your joy.
Key Point:
Giving at a level that matches the financial status of your expectations is a way to compel God to supernaturally upgrade you to that expected level.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Chronicles 29-30
Ezekiel 40:20-34
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 10: THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING
1. There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.
Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
2. There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
3. There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
4. There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
Prayer Points on Today's Open Heavens: (Wednesday, September 13th, 2017) - GIVING DETERMINES PROMOTION
1.I worship and adore you, Father, because, there is nothing that l can lay claim to in life, that has not been given unto me from above.
2.Thank you, Father, for daily loading me with benefits.
3.Father, in anyway, l have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus' name.
4.Father, as from today, let me never come into your presence, empty handed, in Jesus' name.
5.Father, you are the One who gives seed to the sower, please, let the seeds that l will sow into your kingdom, be placed in my hands, even, before the needs arise, in Jesus' name.
6.Father, give me a sacrificial heart of giving, and let every spirit of stinginess, in my life, be consumed by your fire, in Jesus' name.
7.Father, beginning from now, let my giving reflect and be commensurate to the level and proportion of your blessings, in my life, in Jesus' name.
8.Father, empower me to give you offerings, that will provoke you, to promote and bless me more, in Jesus' name.
9.Father, as l increase the level of my giving, let men give unto my bossom, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and overflowing, in Jesus' name.
10.Father, let every spirit of lack, poverty, and financial difficulties, in my life, be terminated, today, in Jesus' name.
11.Father, open the doors of financial breakthroughs for me, that will take the level of my giving to a greater height, in Jesus' name.
12.Your Personal petitions.
( Philippians 4:6)
13.In Jesus' name I pray.
(John 14:13-14; 15:16)
14.Thank you Father for answered prayers.
(1 Thessalonians 5:18).
#GodBlessOurNation
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR PASSAGES
Jeremiah: 29. 1. Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; 2. (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) 3. By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, 4. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; 5. Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 6. Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. 7. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. 8. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD. 10. For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. 15. Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16. Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; 17. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 18. And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them: 19. Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD. 20. Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; 22. And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23. Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD. 24. Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25. Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26. The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks. 27. Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you? 28. For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 29. And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30. Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 31. Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie: 32. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.
Jeremiah: 30. 1. The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2. Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. 3. For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. 4. And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5. For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? 7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 8. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: 9. But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. 10. Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. 11. For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. 12. For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. 13. There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. 14. All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. 15. Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. 16. Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. 17. For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. 18. Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. 19. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. 20. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. 21. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. 22. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 23. Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. 24. The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.
Ezekiel: 40. 20. And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof. 21. And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 22. And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them. 23. And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits. 24. After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. 25. And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 26. And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. 27. And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits. 28. And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures; 29. And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. 30. And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. 31. And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps. 32. And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures. 33. And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. 34. And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.
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